"I don't want to blame anybody, but I kind of think that the commissioner that read the scale made a few mistakes. I've never heard of anybody taking their underwear off and losing a pound before. Either the scale is off or the guy reading the scale wasn't reading it right. Making that weight was easy. We didn't even have to try and we've already gone to 185 twice before for AfflictionÂ…That's where we're staying at, 185, and we're coming after Anderson Silva and that belt," stated Xtreme Couture trainer Shawn Tompkins as he talked about Vitor Belfort's future plans after his impressive knockout victory over Rich Franklin at UFC 103. Check it out!
PC: Busy week last week for you and the Xtreme Couture guys. How was your trip to both Oklahoma and Dallas?
ST: Well, it couldn't have went (laughing), it couldn't have went any better, especially with Vitor Belfort. It was a real cool atmosphere to be at out there in Dallas. They had a record number of people at the events and the return of Vitor Belfort in the UFC is probably, outside of when I had Dan Henderson when he beat Wanderlei Silva, it's probably the biggest fight that I've been involved with.
PC: A lot of people weren't sure what to expect in Vitor's return. Did you get everything you were looking for in that fight?
ST: Yeah. He followed the gameplan perfectly. Rich Franklin came out and did what we wanted him to do, but not what we expected him to do. We really expected him to try and turn it into a grappling match and try to tire Vitor out, but for some reason, somebody told him he should try to come and stand with us, which, like I always say, is a bad idea when you fight a guy like Vitor Belfort. It was just a great fight and he followed it perfectly.
PC: I'm used to seeing Vitor come out like a ball of fire. Was the gameplan to be patient and wait for an opening because I don't think I've ever seen Vitor so patient before?
ST: Well absolutely and like I said before, we really expected Rich to try to get Vitor to the cage and try to take him down and at least wear him out against the cage much like Georges St. Pierre did against BJ. We just wanted to be patient, use a lot of movement and try to take Rich later into the rounds and see if we could wear him out, so like I said, it worked out perfectly for us.
PC: Are you concerned that making 185 will be a problem for Belfort considering he had to go shed a pound or so before this fight?
ST: Absolutely not. We had already made weight like 4 or 5 hours before the weigh-ins and I just, honestly, I don't want to blame anybody, but I kind of think that the commissioner that read the scale made a few mistakes. I've never heard of anybody taking their underwear off and losing a pound before. Either the scale is off or the guy reading the scale wasn't reading it right. Making that weight was easy. We didn't even have to try and we've already gone to 185 twice before for Affliction.
PC: And is that the weight you would like to see him fight at, 185?
ST: Absolutely! That's where we're staying at, 185, and we're coming after Anderson Silva and that belt.
PC: It's so tough to keep up with all of the guys you work with. You guys had 6 fighters from Xtreme Couture between the 2 cards. Who were you working with and what did you like and dislike in their respective fights?
ST: Well, in Oklahoma, I had Sam Stout out there and that's who I specifically worked with out there for that card. Gray trained with us and the team, but he had his own set of coaches. I had a huge letdown in that show with Sam's fight not coming off. That was definitely a disappointment. Gray went out and performed against a better Roger Huerta than I think we all expected. It is what it is though. We went on to Dallas and Tyson Griffin put on a clinic. He always shows huge improvement. And Martin Kampmann got tricked into a fight and fell off of the gameplan and that's what happened in that fight. I helped Frank Trigg out a little bit, but again, he got caught. Fighting Josh Koscheck in your first fight back in the UFC is not an easy thing to do. I'm glad to hear that they are giving him another chance. And like I said, on to Vitor and his fight couldn't have been more perfect. It was a great experience. We trained basically two camps together because of the Affliction show getting cancelled and I felt like we had been training for years for that one fight and thankfully it turned out for the best.
PC: Yeah, fighting Koscheck is no joke in your first fight back, but to fight Rich Franklin in your first fight back and knock him out was spectacular. How mentally prepared was Vitor, as well as physically?
ST: Vitor is a different person now. He really is. He's not that spoiled kid that we saw back in the day when he was building his career and got ahead of himself. His head is in the game, he's very focused and he's very secure with where he is in the game right now. Like you said, Rich Franklin is no easy competitor. That told us right there where he's at. Rich is a good fighter in the aspect in that it's not like he fights to win, but he fights to not lose and that makes him dangerous for anybody.
PC: I know you and Sam Stout have a personal relationship. What is it like to see a guy that you're so close to train so hard and, although it was due to uncontrollable circumstances, not see him fight?
ST: It was really a horrible feeling. It was an empty feeling is the best way to say it. His hands were taped and he was hitting the pads warming up for the 1st round when Joe Silva came to the back room and said, "Hey, listen, I've got bad news. Phillipe is next door to us here and he just fell and had a seizure." The first thing that we were concerned about is was he okay and that he was healthy. Once we found out he was okay, we just moved on from there and looked at making that fight happen still. I know they're just looking for an opening for us and then away we go.
PC: How is Ray Sefo looking for his Strikeforce debut?
ST: Ray is going to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time in both kickboxing and MMA. He's worked really hard and he's got myself, Jay Hieron and Alex Schoenauer over here giving him our expertise and I think he will go out and be real composed and I expect a quick night tomorrow night for him.
PC: We've seen some kickboxing guys and Muay Thai backgrounds that didn't fair so well in MMA. What do you feel the recipe is for a smooth transition and does Ray have that recipe?
ST: Yeah, I think Ray is ready for MMA. I think where a lot of kickboxers mess up is they decide one day they're going to do MMA and then the next day they're in the cage. Ray Sefo came out to Las Vegas and started training with us about a year and a half ago and slowly got introduced into mixed martial arts, into his wrestling and into his Jiu Jitsu. He didn't learn takedown defense yesterday. We waited and put in a lot of work and time with getting to where we're going to be tonight with Strikeforce.
PC: You are a super busy dude man. What does Shawn Tompkins do on his days off?
ST: You know man, my favorite thing right now is I got a English Bulldog puppy and she's about 5 months now and when I'm at home, I just like to chill out on the couch with my puppies and hang out with my wife and do everything but think about fighting. That's the key to just get away from it.
PC: Sounds good my man. Well it was great seeing you in Dallas and I always appreciate your time for interviews. Good luck with Ray tonight.
ST: Thank you Percy. Take care!
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]